- Almost 70% of the world’s footballs are made in the city of Sialkot, Pakistan.
- Sialkot is home to at least 1,000 soccer ball factories that employ almost 60,000 people.
- Demand for soccer balls fell dramatically during the pandemic, but a factory we visited is eyeing the 2022 World Cup.
- See more episodes of Business Insider Today on Facebook.
Most soccer balls in the world – almost 70% – are made in a small town in northern Pakistan.
The production of soccer balls is an important source of income in the city of Sialkot, with at least 1,000 soccer ball factories employing almost 60,000 people there.
But during the coronavirus pandemic, many closed their doors.
“Demand for soccer balls has dropped dramatically due to the coronavirus because the playgrounds are closed, there are no games, people have no space to play. Therefore, buyers have reduced demand by 70%,” said Waseem Shahbaz Lodhi, managing partner da Bola Gema Pakistan, a factory that produces 160,000 balls per month.
At Bola Gema Pakistan’s factory, workers are responsible for all aspects of creating a soccer ball, from cutting and molding hot rubber sheets to mending the 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons that make up the ball’s exterior.
“The industry has been around for almost a century, which is why our skill improvement is incredible,” said Lodhi.
Kashif Khan / Abu Bakr for Business Insider Today
FIFA approved balls like the ones Bola Gema makes can be sold for more than $ 100 in the United States – more than the monthly wages of some workers who make them.
Before the last World Cup in 2018, Pakistan exported more than 37 million soccer balls worldwide. Bola Gema started making balls before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
While business is stalled due to a stoppage in team sports during the pandemic, Lodhi is taking care of his employees.
“We have been home for two or three months, but the owners of Bola Gema are still paying us. That is why we are not concerned,” said Saeeda Bibi, worker at Bola Gema.
The company also created a store where workers can buy household products at a discount.
The store is made possible by a 10% premium on soccer balls sold to foreign buyers through the Fair Trade Association, said Lodhi. This 10% is recovered to offer lower prices in store for Bola Gema employees.
As the pandemic continues, Lodhi hopes the soccer ball industry will recover.
“We are receiving new consultations and we hope that, despite the corona pandemic, we will start receiving requests,” he said. “And the production that fell 70% gradually improves and we will not be forced to close the factory”.